Hickman-Bilal District technology plan for Prince George’s county special education teachers and support staff By Geva Hickman-Bilal
Hickman-Bilal District Technology Plan for Prince George’s County Special Education Instructors and Support Staff The District 3 The Problem 4 The Needs Assessment 5 The Audience 10 The Objectives/Goals 11 Content 13 Instructional Strategies 15 Sample Week Long Workshop 16 Day 1 16 Day 2 18 Day 3 19 Day 4 20 Day 5 21 Field Test 22 Revision 22 Success 23 Summative Evaluations 23 Budget 25 Follow-Up 25 References 27 Geva Hickman-Bilal Professor Sponder EDTC640 October 18, 2013 Hickman-Bilal District Technology Plan for Prince George’s County Special Education Instructors and Support Staff
The District
In 2008, the County devised a four year technology plan geared at increasing the amount of technology all educational employees use in the classrooms and for professional development. In addition to this plan, another initiative has been put in place to encourage teachers specifically to increase the amount of technology they use in their classroom and lesson plans. This initiative is called the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards (MTTS). These standards are designed to give teachers guidelines and specific technology based assessments to complete to help aid them in integrating a diverse array of technology and multimedia lessons into their classrooms. The Prince George’s County school system is composed of approximately 67% African American students. The next largest student body group is Hispanic/Latino at 22%. The county employs 9,000 educators in 204 schools. It functions with a budget of approximately $1.6 billion in an annual budget. In addition to its traditional public schools, there are two vocational schools, five alternative schools, and seven charter schools. The district has created a variety of learning options for all kinds of learners. Image from PG County Tech Plan
According to the technology plan, every classroom teacher is provided a laptop and data projector to aid in adding technology to lesson plans. Students have access to digital textbooks and other online resources as well as online classes for home and school use. Both students and teachers have access to virtual instruction through videoconferencing.
The Problem
After a through review of the County wide technology plan, it became quite clear that an integral part of Prince George’s County’s teaching force has been marginally included in this plan. The unique needs of the county’s special education teaching staff are not the same as the general education or the inclusive classroom staff’s needs. It is these significant differences and challenges faced by special education instructors that make using and integrating technology that much more difficult to implement. When coupled with teachers who have little to no training on the latest classroom technology trends, the challenges become nearly insurmountable. When educators at some of the County’s alternative non-public schools were interviewed, it also became evident that the technology that is outlined in the current District technology plan is scarce to almost non existent in the schools slated to help the district’s most struggling student population. Without access to some of the staple pieces of technology that is available to general education schools and teachers, it is nearly impossible for the district’s special education teachers to include technology in their classrooms. These deficiencies special educators deal with makes them unable to try and meet the MTTS standards goals, or the educational goals of the new statewide standards recently adopted. All teachers in all schools in the district must be given the same access to technology. All teachers in all levels of education in the K-12 demographic must be trained on equal footing to ensure that every student, no matter which school they attend, can have the same access to technology and technology based lessons. The County’s currently technology plan does not make mention of the ever increasing gap in the training of its special educators and its general educators. The students that are serviced in the alternative schools need to have the benefit of technology assistive software, Internet based lessons, and online textbooks and classes probably more than their general education counterparts. Teachers in this population need to have the training to use these interventions effectively and be comfortable using technology. The trainings must be consistent and relevant.
The Needs Assessment
In lieu of the glaring discrepancies of the technological skill levels of the county’s special education teachers, it is imperative that special attention be paid to how these teachers are trained. These trainings for this specific educator group must encompass all of the circumstances these teachers must consider when lesson planning. The trainings must be able to aid teachers in effectively using the technology, not just make learning efficient, but to make learning available to the most delayed or disabled student. The trainings must also cover the fears of the teachers in learning how implementing things such as Web 2.0, SmartBoard/Notebook, based lessons website creation, and multimedia presentations can make their impact on students greater and more enriching for everyone involved. An informal survey was conducted of several educators and support staff who are currently or have in the recent past, worked in one of the alternative schools in the district. The results show that many teachers do not feel very confident in their skills with technology for their classroom. The survey also shows that many teachers in special education feel that they do need more training in the area of technology. When also asked if they new how to create a classroom website using a free software, most of those surveyed said no. When asked if they think that their school needs to offer more training for technology in the classroom, 100% of those surveyed said yes. In addition, every person surveyed said they would attend a professional development training on how to use technology in the classroom. Here is the link to the survey given to special educators in the district: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N52WFNF
From the answers provided by the survey, there is a clear need in this district for more extensive training on how to create classroom websites and on how to use other forms of technology in the classroom. In light of the results from the survey, it is evident that there needs to be a specific and systematic approach to how the district’s special education teachers are trained for their particular demographic of students. These training must take into consideration student IEP needs, required accommodations, classroom interventions for struggling and far below average learners, implementation of Common Core Standards, and differentiation in lesson planning. Teachers must be given the opportunity to refresh themselves of the new skills in order to continue to gain confidence and to share what things they have learned from using the technology in their classrooms on their own. Trainings need to be relevant for special educators for all grade levels and accessible for all skill levels of the teachers. There must be something to learn for those who are comfortable with technology. In the following pages, there will be an outline of suggested trainings that will support increasing the training skills of the special education teaching staff for this district. This technology training plan will outline the targeted staff for the development, the objectives of the plan, and offer a sample of a 5 day workshop planned for the development.
The Audience
The audience for this district technology plan is specifically the special educators of this district. Based on survey responses, this demographic has not been given enough, if any, specific training on how to use technology in the special education classroom to meet the needs of the students. These teachers and support staff require a more extensive development on the uses and benefits of the latest technological advances, software available, and assistive technology. Teachers and support staff also need regular training to help those who lack any skills gain and retain them and those who have skills to enhance and improve. There are several factors that make this particular audience different from their general education peers. When planning lessons for students with special needs, teachers must take into account that all of their students will be at every level on the learning curve; the majority will be 2-4 grade levels behind. Even with the smaller class sizes, trying to teach such a wide range of abilities is daunting on its own. When you add the myriad of different IEP accommodations or interventions that must be in place for every student, the curriculum benchmarks that still must be met regardless if the students are special education or not, and the pressures of showing some kind of improvement on state wide tests, these teachers are already facing a challenge trying to teach using the traditional methods they are used to using. Many of these educators decide that it is too time consuming to try and add to their lessons. For them, that time can be better spent just trying to adjust what they have been doing to meet the needs of their classes. In addition to the thought that it will take too much time to add technology to a lesson, many teachers are fearful of the technology. They may be very well able to use the computer and Internet at home for personal reasons. It is a daunting effort to carry over those same skills into a lesson. Special Education teacher have a greater task of creating lessons that can be learned by even the most delayed student. Most of them feel that there is no time available to plan a lesson that requires students to use the Internet, or even to create an entire website for their class to use on a daily basis.
The Objectives/Goals
The goals of the District Technology Training Plan for special education teachers are to:
• Develop and track staff development as they integrate technology with their lesson plans
• Train teachers to develop lesson and unit plans in different formats (online, multimedia, or a combination of both) for all classrooms
• Provide relevant training opportunities for all special education teachers in the district
• Support the MSDE initiative to assess technology literacy of teachers and support staff
Special consideration in the trainings will be given to developing lessons that offer differentiated instructions, learning opportunities for all learners, and effective alternative assessment practices. Many of the students in this demographic will not have much access to technology outside of school. Teachers must be able to design lessons that offer flexibility to students with outside environmental challenges. In addition, teachers and support staff will be trained to use technology extensively throughout the school year. They will be required to submit lesson and unit plans that show a minimum of technology in each lesson.
Content
Title of Development Course
Target Audience
Description Summary
Introduction into Technology in the Special Education classroom.
Special Education Teachers and support staff
Here, the audience will be given an overview of the research based support on how important technology can be when used in the special education population.
What is a Blog and How Can I Use it in My Classroom?
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will introduce how to use educational blogs as a part of classroom lessons to aid students in discovery based learning, cooperative learning, explore communication with students from other areas of the county, state, or country, and increase daily writing activities for all lessons at all grade levels.
Classroom Websites: Friend or Foe?
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will introduce staff to the many benefits of creating and maintaining a classroom website. Staff will learn how to use different applications such as Google Sites, Weebly, Yola, and Wix and begin to create their own websites.
Rising to the IEP Challenge
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will be used to show audience how to create web based lessons that can be modified to meet the many IEP needs of students. Emphasis will be placed on using assistive technologies such as Kurzweil 3000 for reading assistance and Khan Academy for math assistance.
Planning Using Technology
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will aid the audience in understanding how to create lesson and unit plans with technology in mind. Audience will discuss and plan webquest activities, Internet Scavenger hunts, and incorporate the use of educational websites such as Discovery Education, The History Channel, and ReadThinkWrite.org.
How Do I Use My SmartBoard?
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will both teach novice users of the Smartboard and refresh the veteran user on ways to create interactive lessons for all subjects.
PowerPoint Pitfalls
Special Education Teachers and support staff
This course will explore the different ways PowerPoint can be used as a learning tool, and an assessment tool for special needs students. Audience will also learn how to use PowerPoint as an enhancement to a lesson rather than as a lecture to a lesson.
Instructional Strategies
Each course will feature hands on elements to ensure that everyone involved understands how to use the technology they are learning. Each course will require a sample artifact to be created to show mastery of the technology. The artifact must be one that the teacher or staff will be able to use in an actual lesson that will be taught in either the current or the following school year. In addition to using the Internet, the courses will involve the use of
• SmartBoards
• Digital Projectors
• Laptops
• PowerPoint
• Digital Photography
• PhotoShop (or some other photo imaging software)
• Social Media
• YouTube/Teacher Tube
• And instructional materials such as online articles, copies of related texts and research information
Teachers are not always the best students. These professional development courses will be designed to have teachers working constantly on ongoing projects that they will be required to use in either the current or next school year’s lesson plans. The idea is that by having them thinking of their students as they train, teachers will not feel like their time is being wasted on trainings they will never put to use. At the end of the professional development courses, teachers and support staff should have a working portfolio of ready to use, technology based lessons or unit plans that can be put in place during their lesson planning.
Sample Week Long Workshop
Here is what the course Classroom Websites: Friend or Foe will look like. It is intended to be a 5 day workshop. These 5 days will be done over the course of the first semester of the new school year. Using the Professional Days near the beginning of the school year, teachers are able to take what they have learned and use during the second semester planning.
Day 1
Participants will meet in the computer lab. Instructors will begin a discussion on what the teachers think about why they should have a classroom website, what can they do with a classroom website, and what things can they put on a classroom website that the students can use daily. Once participants have decided on their reasons for having a website and what things they can put on a website that students can use daily, they will use Notepad, or some other word processing software at the computers they are sitting in front of and make a comprehensive list of content they think should be on their website. Participants will be directed to think about websites they visit frequently. Emphasis will be placed on participants thinking about what content do they want or need their students to have access to. Once each participant has created their list, the instructor will place the participants in groups of 2 or 3 for a peer review of the created lists. In the review groups, the participants are expected to check for a specific list of elements in the lists. During the review, each participant is expected to change, add, or delete their lists based on the reviews received. This will end the first 3 hours. The second half of the day will begin with the participants logging into the computers and beginning a search for examples of teacher websites. Participants are expected to look for websites from teachers that teach either their same grade level, or one just above their grade level. Participants will explore the websites and look for content similar to what is on their lists. They must locate at least 3 examples of other teacher websites. They must also make note of how much of their own expectations of a website are in the examples they have reviewed. The final half of the day, each participant will use the digital projector to show the group the best website they have found that matches what they want their own website to contain. Each participant is expected to show where the content on the website matches what is listed on the created content wish list. This should end the first day of training.
Day 2
Participants are again in the computer lab. Participants will begin with a discussion on what was most helpful from the prior day’s discussions. Once the recap and discussion has been completed, the participants will log in and read along with the instructor some short articles on the benefits of using classroom websites. Here are a few of the articles the participants will read:
Discussion of each article will follow. Participants will be asked to write down their opinions and feelings on classroom websites after reading the articles. Participants will also be asked to write down what their biggest fears of creating a website. Instructor will place the participants in the same groups as day 1 and have the groups discuss the notes everyone has taken. The instructor will walk around to ensure that each group is having meaningful conversations about the notes. The instructor will ask one person from each group to identify the fears discussed and what suggestions were given for those fears. Once each group has responded, the instructor will direct the participants back to the computers and the instructor will direct everyone to open weebly.com. The instructor will lead the class through the first steps of the website creation process. During the second half of the training day, the instructor will continue to help the participants with the first steps of setting up a website. Emphasis will be placed on the participants to use the planning steps Weebly includes in their creation process. Participants will be expected to use their created website wish lists as they work. Those participants who are already familiar with Weebly, the instructor will guide them to use a site that they are unfamiliar with, such as Wix or Yola or Google Sites.
Day 3
Participants will be expected to enter the computer lab and to continue setting up their Weebly websites. For those participants who are already familiar with Weebly, they will be expected to create a website using Yola or Wix. The entire training day will be dedicated to the participants following the steps of the creation process. Participants will be reminded to go back and check the example sites they looked at previously to help guide them in their own creation process. Participants will be allowed to help each other and offer constructive feedback to each other as they create. The instructor will check on the progress of each participant. Once participants get to adding content, a checklist will be given to them to ensure that the basic components of a classroom website are created. Some of these basic components are:
• Teacher contact information
• Classroom Calendar of Events
• An About Me section
• Homework section
• Collection of helpful links for both parents and students
• Grading Rubrics
Pariticpants will be expected to have created at least the home page, the about me page (with pictures and other information to give visitors an idea of who you are), and the homework section. Participants may work in groups of teachers of similar grades or subjects to create a list of helpful links to include on their sites. These links can be homework help links, reading help links, links to websites such as Khan Academy for math help, or BrainPop for activities for kids to do if they complete work early. The links must be approved by the instructor.
Day 4
Participants will continue to work on their websites. Instructor will use the first half of this training day to help participants to add any missing components. Once this has been done, participants will need to take a lesson that they will teach and add it to their website. They must add some form if technology in the lesson (web research, multimedia presentation, YouTube/TeacherTube, Internet Scavenger hunt, etc..) and add it to their website. As participants add their lessons, they will be required to use at least two of the website’s abilities to attach documents, website links, video links, or slideshow links. There must be a button or phrase for students to click on to be taken to another website or document. There must also be at least 2 rubrics added to this page on the website. Instructor will place the class in the same groups as before and each group member will visit the created sites of each other. Participants will spend the second half of the day going to each other’s websites and offering constructive feedback and making changes to their websites. They will also spend time researching other technology to add to their lesson that will be added to their website. If necessary, this day can be used to create a short PowerPoint for the lesson, or create a short webquest to add to their website. Participants will be asked to compare their websites with the example websites that were located earlier in the training. The participants must also check for their website wishlist items to be included on their website. There will be a Venn Diagram for each participant to complete as they compare and contrast their website to the sample websites that were located earlier. Group discussions and peer help will be encouraged during this creative session. Participants will receive individual feedback and assistance from the instructor along with help from participants who are further along in their website creation.
Day 5
This is the final day of training. Participants will present their completed website and explain what lesson was added. They will also showcase the technology that was created for the lesson. Each participant must present their website and be ready to answer any questions the instructor or other participants may have. The second half of this day will be spent with the participants reflecting on what they have learned from the training. They will answer a prepared survey about the instructor, about the content, about how the information was presented, and about how the training was administered. At the end of the survey will be a section for participants to reflect on what they have taken away from this training. They will be expected to write about what has changed about their perspective about classroom websites. They should also write about other things they would like to add to their website as they get more comfortable with using it. This list of things will be used as a personal goal for the participants to work towards before the school year. The remainder of the training time will be used for participants to use each other’s websites as if they were students. Each participant should attempt to access the links on the websites, email the teacher, and view the grading rubrics listed. Any links that do not work should be fixed. Participants should also be adding content as needed. The final hours of the last day will be spent reflecting on what has been learned and accomplished during the 5 day training. The participants will share with each other if their fears have been overcome or increased. They will also answer if they have gained more confidence in creating websites for their classrooms. Participants will be given their progress reports on their website creation and also be given a set of goals to meet with their websites by the end of the school year.
Field Test
This training workshop will be field tested on the administrators and educational directors of chosen alternative schools. The idea behind field testing with this audience is to ensure that those who supervise the instructors are just as aware and confident of the skills as the teachers themselves. The directors and administrators can also provide feedback that may be helpful for the unique needs of their schools that the instructor may not be aware of. The field test will be adjusted to show the administrators and directors can create websites for their department or office. Instead of creating lessons, they will be instructed to create a calendar of meeting events, upcoming teacher observation schedules, or other important meeting dates. The websites will be made available to the staff so that they can see what important events are upcoming. The chosen field test audience will also be instructed to come up with content to add to their site that they think will be relevant to their staff. This audience will go through the exact same question, discussion and answer sessions as the teachers will experience. Their feedback will be used to adjust the workshop as necessary.
Revision
The workshop will be revised based on the feedback from the field test audience. Suggestions and alterations will be made to make sure that the needs of the teachers and support staff are met. The field test audience will also be involved in the revisions and oversee the workshop on the days it is offered. If possible, the websites that the field test audience creates will also be used as an example to the teachers and staff during their workshops.
Success
The workshop’s success will be determined by the amount of goals that the teachers and support staff are able to meet by the end of the year. 70% of goals met should be viewed as a successful workshop. Subsequent follow up on the continuing use of the websites for consecutive school years will also be used to calculate success rates. Surveys of workshop participants will also be used to determine f more training must be done, or if refresher classes need to be offered. In addition to checking for goals on websites, teachers and their students will also be surveyed to ask if they have noticed any positive changes in the learning environment with the addition of the class websites. If possible, parents and guardians will also be polled on their opinion of the classroom websites usefulness. These survey responses will be used to determine if this workshop will be used on a larger scale to include other districts in the future. A final success assessment will be determining if student’s IEP goals have shown a higher increase in progress from the same time last year to the current year of the use of the websites. By using student work samples that come from lesson that use the websites, teachers, district IEP coordinators, and parents will be able to assess if the students have been able to increase their learning abilities by using the websites. An increase in grades and in students showing that they can meet their IEP goals by using the website will prove as successful indicators for the developmental workshop.
Summative Evaluations
This five day workshop is designed to give its participants an understanding of the role a classroom website can play in the classroom. The workshop is designed to quash any fears of the creative aspect of a classroom website by highlighting each of the steps involved in the process. The workshop is also designed to force the participants to face their fears and acknowledge that those fears are valid, yet not insurmountable . The use of small group discussions, peer reviews of work, and instructor modeled examples, the workshop will ensure that the participants leave with a higher comfort level of using classroom websites and a working website to begin to use at a level they are confident with. The workshop is also designed to introduce the participants to different website creation options. For those participants who are already familiar with creating websites using one application, encouraging them to use and learn another helps them both enlarge their expertise and learn a new way to create. This is designed to try and put every participant on the same level of learning when it comes to the actual website creation portion of the workshop. As the participant work on their websites, they are encouraged to use content that specifically fits their students and classrooms. This ensures that no one creates the same artifact from the workshop and the finished artifacts are useful, meaningful, and relevant to each participant. At the end of the workshop, each participant is given approximately three goals to reach before the end of the school year. These goals are based on participants answers to surveys and revelations made during discussions. These goals should be seen as attainable to the participants after the workshop is completed. The participants will be expected to show progress towards those goals periodically throughout the year. This facet of the workshop enable both the educational directors and the participant to monitor progress and discuss any issues before they become hurdles. There will be a monetary reward for participants who meet there goals by the end of the school year.
Budget
This workshop has been designed to be cost effective for the school district’s budget. The workshop will be done during planned professional days. The venue will be the computer lab in the school of choice. The Internet is already provided by the district for the schools. The website creation software are all free to use for basic plans. The cost breakdown for the instructor and the teacher stipends and goal achievement rewards are as follows:
• Instructor fees: $45/hr
• Teacher attendance stipend: 5 hour comp time for full 5 day attendance
• Teacher goal achievement stipend:
$50-for 1 goal achieved $100-for 2 goals achieved $150-for 3 goals achieved Goal achievement stipend will be issued in the final paycheck before summer for all participants.
Follow-Up
This training will be followed up by educational directors and principals using the goals each participant was given and working with their progress on achievement. Participants will be given directions on how to reach the instructor for any content or website design questions they may have. Every quarter, participants should report to their educational directors or principals on their progress with their goals and with progress on the classroom website and its integration into their lessons. Other follow up interventions can be classroom observations when the classroom lessons that use the website are taught. Just before Spring Break, the instructor will reach out to each of the participants with a survey asking how the participants are doing with their websites. They will be asked how often they are using the websites, how much new content are they adding, how they feel they are able to manage their time with using the website and to give their new level of comfort with the website in their classrooms.
Table of Contents
Hickman-Bilal District technology plan for Prince George’s county special education teachers and support staff
By Geva Hickman-Bilal
Hickman-Bilal District Technology Plan for Prince George’s County Special Education Instructors and Support Staff
The District 3
The Problem 4
The Needs Assessment 5
The Audience 10
The Objectives/Goals 11
Content 13
Instructional Strategies 15
Sample Week Long Workshop 16
Day 1 16
Day 2 18
Day 3 19
Day 4 20
Day 5 21
Field Test 22
Revision 22
Success 23
Summative Evaluations 23
Budget 25
Follow-Up 25
References 27
Geva Hickman-Bilal
Professor Sponder
EDTC640
October 18, 2013
Hickman-Bilal District Technology Plan for Prince George’s County Special Education Instructors and Support Staff
The District
In 2008, the County devised a four year technology plan geared at increasing the amount of technology all educational employees use in the classrooms and for professional development. In addition to this plan, another initiative has been put in place to encourage teachers specifically to increase the amount of technology they use in their classroom and lesson plans. This initiative is called the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards (MTTS). These standards are designed to give teachers guidelines and specific technology based assessments to complete to help aid them in integrating a diverse array of technology and multimedia lessons into their classrooms.The Prince George’s County school system is composed of approximately 67% African American students. The next largest student body group is Hispanic/Latino at 22%. The county employs 9,000 educators in 204 schools. It functions with a budget of approximately $1.6 billion in an annual budget. In addition to its traditional public schools, there are two vocational schools, five alternative schools, and seven charter schools. The district has created a variety of learning options for all kinds of learners.
Image from PG County Tech Plan
According to the technology plan, every classroom teacher is provided a laptop and data projector to aid in adding technology to lesson plans. Students have access to digital textbooks and other online resources as well as online classes for home and school use. Both students and teachers have access to virtual instruction through videoconferencing.The Problem
After a through review of the County wide technology plan, it became quite clear that an integral part of Prince George’s County’s teaching force has been marginally included in this plan. The unique needs of the county’s special education teaching staff are not the same as the general education or the inclusive classroom staff’s needs. It is these significant differences and challenges faced by special education instructors that make using and integrating technology that much more difficult to implement. When coupled with teachers who have little to no training on the latest classroom technology trends, the challenges become nearly insurmountable.When educators at some of the County’s alternative non-public schools were interviewed, it also became evident that the technology that is outlined in the current District technology plan is scarce to almost non existent in the schools slated to help the district’s most struggling student population. Without access to some of the staple pieces of technology that is available to general education schools and teachers, it is nearly impossible for the district’s special education teachers to include technology in their classrooms. These deficiencies special educators deal with makes them unable to try and meet the MTTS standards goals, or the educational goals of the new statewide standards recently adopted. All teachers in all schools in the district must be given the same access to technology. All teachers in all levels of education in the K-12 demographic must be trained on equal footing to ensure that every student, no matter which school they attend, can have the same access to technology and technology based lessons.
The County’s currently technology plan does not make mention of the ever increasing gap in the training of its special educators and its general educators. The students that are serviced in the alternative schools need to have the benefit of technology assistive software, Internet based lessons, and online textbooks and classes probably more than their general education counterparts. Teachers in this population need to have the training to use these interventions effectively and be comfortable using technology. The trainings must be consistent and relevant.
The Needs Assessment
In lieu of the glaring discrepancies of the technological skill levels of the county’s special education teachers, it is imperative that special attention be paid to how these teachers are trained. These trainings for this specific educator group must encompass all of the circumstances these teachers must consider when lesson planning. The trainings must be able to aid teachers in effectively using the technology, not just make learning efficient, but to make learning available to the most delayed or disabled student. The trainings must also cover the fears of the teachers in learning how implementing things such as Web 2.0, SmartBoard/Notebook, based lessons website creation, and multimedia presentations can make their impact on students greater and more enriching for everyone involved.An informal survey was conducted of several educators and support staff who are currently or have in the recent past, worked in one of the alternative schools in the district. The results show that many teachers do not feel very confident in their skills with technology for their classroom. The survey also shows that many teachers in special education feel that they do need more training in the area of technology. When also asked if they new how to create a classroom website using a free software, most of those surveyed said no. When asked if they think that their school needs to offer more training for technology in the classroom, 100% of those surveyed said yes. In addition, every person surveyed said they would attend a professional development training on how to use technology in the classroom. Here is the link to the survey given to special educators in the district: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N52WFNF
In light of the results from the survey, it is evident that there needs to be a specific and systematic approach to how the district’s special education teachers are trained for their particular demographic of students. These training must take into consideration student IEP needs, required accommodations, classroom interventions for struggling and far below average learners, implementation of Common Core Standards, and differentiation in lesson planning. Teachers must be given the opportunity to refresh themselves of the new skills in order to continue to gain confidence and to share what things they have learned from using the technology in their classrooms on their own. Trainings need to be relevant for special educators for all grade levels and accessible for all skill levels of the teachers. There must be something to learn for those who are comfortable with technology.
In the following pages, there will be an outline of suggested trainings that will support increasing the training skills of the special education teaching staff for this district. This technology training plan will outline the targeted staff for the development, the objectives of the plan, and offer a sample of a 5 day workshop planned for the development.
The Audience
The audience for this district technology plan is specifically the special educators of this district. Based on survey responses, this demographic has not been given enough, if any, specific training on how to use technology in the special education classroom to meet the needs of the students. These teachers and support staff require a more extensive development on the uses and benefits of the latest technological advances, software available, and assistive technology. Teachers and support staff also need regular training to help those who lack any skills gain and retain them and those who have skills to enhance and improve.There are several factors that make this particular audience different from their general education peers. When planning lessons for students with special needs, teachers must take into account that all of their students will be at every level on the learning curve; the majority will be 2-4 grade levels behind. Even with the smaller class sizes, trying to teach such a wide range of abilities is daunting on its own. When you add the myriad of different IEP accommodations or interventions that must be in place for every student, the curriculum benchmarks that still must be met regardless if the students are special education or not, and the pressures of showing some kind of improvement on state wide tests, these teachers are already facing a challenge trying to teach using the traditional methods they are used to using. Many of these educators decide that it is too time consuming to try and add to their lessons. For them, that time can be better spent just trying to adjust what they have been doing to meet the needs of their classes.
In addition to the thought that it will take too much time to add technology to a lesson, many teachers are fearful of the technology. They may be very well able to use the computer and Internet at home for personal reasons. It is a daunting effort to carry over those same skills into a lesson. Special Education teacher have a greater task of creating lessons that can be learned by even the most delayed student. Most of them feel that there is no time available to plan a lesson that requires students to use the Internet, or even to create an entire website for their class to use on a daily basis.
The Objectives/Goals
The goals of the District Technology Training Plan for special education teachers are to:- • Develop and track staff development as they integrate technology with their lesson plans
- • Train teachers to develop lesson and unit plans in different formats (online, multimedia, or a combination of both) for all classrooms
- • Provide relevant training opportunities for all special education teachers in the district
- • Support the MSDE initiative to assess technology literacy of teachers and support staff
Special consideration in the trainings will be given to developing lessons that offer differentiated instructions, learning opportunities for all learners, and effective alternative assessment practices. Many of the students in this demographic will not have much access to technology outside of school. Teachers must be able to design lessons that offer flexibility to students with outside environmental challenges. In addition, teachers and support staff will be trained to use technology extensively throughout the school year. They will be required to submit lesson and unit plans that show a minimum of technology in each lesson.Content
Instructional Strategies
Each course will feature hands on elements to ensure that everyone involved understands how to use the technology they are learning. Each course will require a sample artifact to be created to show mastery of the technology. The artifact must be one that the teacher or staff will be able to use in an actual lesson that will be taught in either the current or the following school year. In addition to using the Internet, the courses will involve the use of- • SmartBoards
- • Digital Projectors
- • Laptops
- • PowerPoint
- • Digital Photography
- • PhotoShop (or some other photo imaging software)
- • Social Media
- • YouTube/Teacher Tube
- • And instructional materials such as online articles, copies of related texts and research information
Teachers are not always the best students. These professional development courses will be designed to have teachers working constantly on ongoing projects that they will be required to use in either the current or next school year’s lesson plans. The idea is that by having them thinking of their students as they train, teachers will not feel like their time is being wasted on trainings they will never put to use. At the end of the professional development courses, teachers and support staff should have a working portfolio of ready to use, technology based lessons or unit plans that can be put in place during their lesson planning.Sample Week Long Workshop
Here is what the course Classroom Websites: Friend or Foe will look like. It is intended to be a 5 day workshop. These 5 days will be done over the course of the first semester of the new school year. Using the Professional Days near the beginning of the school year, teachers are able to take what they have learned and use during the second semester planning.Day 1
Participants will meet in the computer lab. Instructors will begin a discussion on what the teachers think about why they should have a classroom website, what can they do with a classroom website, and what things can they put on a classroom website that the students can use daily. Once participants have decided on their reasons for having a website and what things they can put on a website that students can use daily, they will use Notepad, or some other word processing software at the computers they are sitting in front of and make a comprehensive list of content they think should be on their website. Participants will be directed to think about websites they visit frequently. Emphasis will be placed on participants thinking about what content do they want or need their students to have access to.Once each participant has created their list, the instructor will place the participants in groups of 2 or 3 for a peer review of the created lists. In the review groups, the participants are expected to check for a specific list of elements in the lists. During the review, each participant is expected to change, add, or delete their lists based on the reviews received. This will end the first 3 hours.
The second half of the day will begin with the participants logging into the computers and beginning a search for examples of teacher websites. Participants are expected to look for websites from teachers that teach either their same grade level, or one just above their grade level. Participants will explore the websites and look for content similar to what is on their lists. They must locate at least 3 examples of other teacher websites. They must also make note of how much of their own expectations of a website are in the examples they have reviewed.
The final half of the day, each participant will use the digital projector to show the group the best website they have found that matches what they want their own website to contain. Each participant is expected to show where the content on the website matches what is listed on the created content wish list. This should end the first day of training.
Day 2
Participants are again in the computer lab. Participants will begin with a discussion on what was most helpful from the prior day’s discussions. Once the recap and discussion has been completed, the participants will log in and read along with the instructor some short articles on the benefits of using classroom websites. Here are a few of the articles the participants will read:- • http://www.cleanapple.com/?p=165
- • http://www.electricteacher.com/classroomweb/purpose.htm
- • http://www.techclassroom.info/websites/outside.html
Discussion of each article will follow. Participants will be asked to write down their opinions and feelings on classroom websites after reading the articles. Participants will also be asked to write down what their biggest fears of creating a website.Instructor will place the participants in the same groups as day 1 and have the groups discuss the notes everyone has taken. The instructor will walk around to ensure that each group is having meaningful conversations about the notes.
The instructor will ask one person from each group to identify the fears discussed and what suggestions were given for those fears. Once each group has responded, the instructor will direct the participants back to the computers and the instructor will direct everyone to open weebly.com. The instructor will lead the class through the first steps of the website creation process.
During the second half of the training day, the instructor will continue to help the participants with the first steps of setting up a website. Emphasis will be placed on the participants to use the planning steps Weebly includes in their creation process. Participants will be expected to use their created website wish lists as they work. Those participants who are already familiar with Weebly, the instructor will guide them to use a site that they are unfamiliar with, such as Wix or Yola or Google Sites.
Day 3
Participants will be expected to enter the computer lab and to continue setting up their Weebly websites. For those participants who are already familiar with Weebly, they will be expected to create a website using Yola or Wix. The entire training day will be dedicated to the participants following the steps of the creation process. Participants will be reminded to go back and check the example sites they looked at previously to help guide them in their own creation process. Participants will be allowed to help each other and offer constructive feedback to each other as they create.The instructor will check on the progress of each participant. Once participants get to adding content, a checklist will be given to them to ensure that the basic components of a classroom website are created. Some of these basic components are:
- • Teacher contact information
- • Classroom Calendar of Events
- • An About Me section
- • Homework section
- • Collection of helpful links for both parents and students
- • Grading Rubrics
Pariticpants will be expected to have created at least the home page, the about me page (with pictures and other information to give visitors an idea of who you are), and the homework section. Participants may work in groups of teachers of similar grades or subjects to create a list of helpful links to include on their sites. These links can be homework help links, reading help links, links to websites such as Khan Academy for math help, or BrainPop for activities for kids to do if they complete work early. The links must be approved by the instructor.Day 4
Participants will continue to work on their websites. Instructor will use the first half of this training day to help participants to add any missing components. Once this has been done, participants will need to take a lesson that they will teach and add it to their website. They must add some form if technology in the lesson (web research, multimedia presentation, YouTube/TeacherTube, Internet Scavenger hunt, etc..) and add it to their website.As participants add their lessons, they will be required to use at least two of the website’s abilities to attach documents, website links, video links, or slideshow links. There must be a button or phrase for students to click on to be taken to another website or document. There must also be at least 2 rubrics added to this page on the website.
Instructor will place the class in the same groups as before and each group member will visit the created sites of each other. Participants will spend the second half of the day going to each other’s websites and offering constructive feedback and making changes to their websites. They will also spend time researching other technology to add to their lesson that will be added to their website. If necessary, this day can be used to create a short PowerPoint for the lesson, or create a short webquest to add to their website.
Participants will be asked to compare their websites with the example websites that were located earlier in the training. The participants must also check for their website wishlist items to be included on their website. There will be a Venn Diagram for each participant to complete as they compare and contrast their website to the sample websites that were located earlier.
Group discussions and peer help will be encouraged during this creative session. Participants will receive individual feedback and assistance from the instructor along with help from participants who are further along in their website creation.
Day 5
This is the final day of training. Participants will present their completed website and explain what lesson was added. They will also showcase the technology that was created for the lesson. Each participant must present their website and be ready to answer any questions the instructor or other participants may have.The second half of this day will be spent with the participants reflecting on what they have learned from the training. They will answer a prepared survey about the instructor, about the content, about how the information was presented, and about how the training was administered. At the end of the survey will be a section for participants to reflect on what they have taken away from this training. They will be expected to write about what has changed about their perspective about classroom websites. They should also write about other things they would like to add to their website as they get more comfortable with using it. This list of things will be used as a personal goal for the participants to work towards before the school year.
The remainder of the training time will be used for participants to use each other’s websites as if they were students. Each participant should attempt to access the links on the websites, email the teacher, and view the grading rubrics listed. Any links that do not work should be fixed. Participants should also be adding content as needed.
The final hours of the last day will be spent reflecting on what has been learned and accomplished during the 5 day training. The participants will share with each other if their fears have been overcome or increased. They will also answer if they have gained more confidence in creating websites for their classrooms. Participants will be given their progress reports on their website creation and also be given a set of goals to meet with their websites by the end of the school year.
Field Test
This training workshop will be field tested on the administrators and educational directors of chosen alternative schools. The idea behind field testing with this audience is to ensure that those who supervise the instructors are just as aware and confident of the skills as the teachers themselves. The directors and administrators can also provide feedback that may be helpful for the unique needs of their schools that the instructor may not be aware of.The field test will be adjusted to show the administrators and directors can create websites for their department or office. Instead of creating lessons, they will be instructed to create a calendar of meeting events, upcoming teacher observation schedules, or other important meeting dates. The websites will be made available to the staff so that they can see what important events are upcoming. The chosen field test audience will also be instructed to come up with content to add to their site that they think will be relevant to their staff. This audience will go through the exact same question, discussion and answer sessions as the teachers will experience. Their feedback will be used to adjust the workshop as necessary.
Revision
The workshop will be revised based on the feedback from the field test audience. Suggestions and alterations will be made to make sure that the needs of the teachers and support staff are met. The field test audience will also be involved in the revisions and oversee the workshop on the days it is offered. If possible, the websites that the field test audience creates will also be used as an example to the teachers and staff during their workshops.Success
The workshop’s success will be determined by the amount of goals that the teachers and support staff are able to meet by the end of the year. 70% of goals met should be viewed as a successful workshop. Subsequent follow up on the continuing use of the websites for consecutive school years will also be used to calculate success rates. Surveys of workshop participants will also be used to determine f more training must be done, or if refresher classes need to be offered.In addition to checking for goals on websites, teachers and their students will also be surveyed to ask if they have noticed any positive changes in the learning environment with the addition of the class websites. If possible, parents and guardians will also be polled on their opinion of the classroom websites usefulness. These survey responses will be used to determine if this workshop will be used on a larger scale to include other districts in the future.
A final success assessment will be determining if student’s IEP goals have shown a higher increase in progress from the same time last year to the current year of the use of the websites. By using student work samples that come from lesson that use the websites, teachers, district IEP coordinators, and parents will be able to assess if the students have been able to increase their learning abilities by using the websites. An increase in grades and in students showing that they can meet their IEP goals by using the website will prove as successful indicators for the developmental workshop.
Summative Evaluations
This five day workshop is designed to give its participants an understanding of the role a classroom website can play in the classroom. The workshop is designed to quash any fears of the creative aspect of a classroom website by highlighting each of the steps involved in the process. The workshop is also designed to force the participants to face their fears and acknowledge that those fears are valid, yet not insurmountable . The use of small group discussions, peer reviews of work, and instructor modeled examples, the workshop will ensure that the participants leave with a higher comfort level of using classroom websites and a working website to begin to use at a level they are confident with.The workshop is also designed to introduce the participants to different website creation options. For those participants who are already familiar with creating websites using one application, encouraging them to use and learn another helps them both enlarge their expertise and learn a new way to create. This is designed to try and put every participant on the same level of learning when it comes to the actual website creation portion of the workshop. As the participant work on their websites, they are encouraged to use content that specifically fits their students and classrooms. This ensures that no one creates the same artifact from the workshop and the finished artifacts are useful, meaningful, and relevant to each participant.
At the end of the workshop, each participant is given approximately three goals to reach before the end of the school year. These goals are based on participants answers to surveys and revelations made during discussions. These goals should be seen as attainable to the participants after the workshop is completed. The participants will be expected to show progress towards those goals periodically throughout the year. This facet of the workshop enable both the educational directors and the participant to monitor progress and discuss any issues before they become hurdles. There will be a monetary reward for participants who meet there goals by the end of the school year.
Budget
This workshop has been designed to be cost effective for the school district’s budget. The workshop will be done during planned professional days. The venue will be the computer lab in the school of choice. The Internet is already provided by the district for the schools. The website creation software are all free to use for basic plans. The cost breakdown for the instructor and the teacher stipends and goal achievement rewards are as follows:- • Instructor fees: $45/hr
- • Teacher attendance stipend: 5 hour comp time for full 5 day attendance
- • Teacher goal achievement stipend:
$50-for 1 goal achieved$100-for 2 goals achieved
$150-for 3 goals achieved
Goal achievement stipend will be issued in the final paycheck before summer for all participants.
Follow-Up
This training will be followed up by educational directors and principals using the goals each participant was given and working with their progress on achievement. Participants will be given directions on how to reach the instructor for any content or website design questions they may have. Every quarter, participants should report to their educational directors or principals on their progress with their goals and with progress on the classroom website and its integration into their lessons. Other follow up interventions can be classroom observations when the classroom lessons that use the website are taught.Just before Spring Break, the instructor will reach out to each of the participants with a survey asking how the participants are doing with their websites. They will be asked how often they are using the websites, how much new content are they adding, how they feel they are able to manage their time with using the website and to give their new level of comfort with the website in their classrooms.
References
Education, P. G. s. C. B. o. (2008). Prince george's county public schools technology plan: Navigating through the 21st century. Upper Marlboro.Martinez, R. R. (2009). Integrating technology in the classroom. from http://www.techclassroom.info/websites/outside.html
Unknown. (2010). Ten reasons every teacher should want a website. from http://www.cleanapple.com/?p=165
Unknown. (2009). Classroom web purpose. from http://www.electricteacher.com/classroomweb/purpose.htm